News briefs: What to know locally, nationally and globally

UB launched a website to promote the new downtown home of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The site is intended to bring regional and national awareness to the school’s new building, according to a UB press release. The site includes pages detailing the school’s community impact, research and patient care and more.

The medical school will begin its transition from South Campus to Downtown in November, as faculty and staff begin moving their offices and laboratories. The campus’s formal grand opening is expected around February 2018.

UB advances field house plans

Athletic Director Allen Greene announced on Friday morning that UB has secured Rochester-based LeChase Construction as the general contractor and New York-based architecture firm CHA Consulting, Inc. for the long-awaited $18 million fieldhouse, according to UBNow.

The facility is funded through philanthropic efforts and football revenue, according to the press release. The fieldhouse will also host university events and expanded intramural and recreational sports programs.

UB will have a ground-breaking ceremony on Oct. 7 to mark the beginning of construction. The 92,000-square-foot indoor practice facility will be located behind the football field. The tentative completion date is spring 2019.

Local

Buffalo News analysis finds downstate students having major impact on SUNY enrollment trends

The number of UB undergraduates from Brooklyn has doubled over the last decade, according to The Buffalo News. The Queens borough likewise has more students from its county than any other county in New York State, besides Erie.

These trends demonstrate an overall shift in downstate interest in SUNY colleges and universities, according to the report. This surge in downstate students comes alongside a noticeable decline in Western New York natives choosing UB. Schools like SUNY Buffalo State, SUNY Fredonia and Geneseo all experienced similar trends over the last decade.

Whole Foods store opens its Amherst doors

More than 400 people stood in line for the grand opening of Whole Foods, according to The Buffalo News. The national grocery chain opened its doors at 3097 Sheridan Dr. on Friday morning, after a much-anticipated wait. It is the first location to open in Buffalo.

National

Trump and Democratic leaders indicate a plan to save DACA is in negotiation

President Donald Trump met with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday morning to speak about protecting DACA, the program which allows undocumented immigrants brought over as minors to remain in the U.S. without threat of deportation.

Details of this meeting were murky and any talk of deal-making was refuted to an extent by both sides. Both agreed that the meeting was productive, according to national news.

Wildfires on West Coast loom large this season

“Extreme fire behavior” has been ramping up along western states, according to The New York Times. Ten western states dealt with more massive wildfires this September, than at any time in the last decade. Thousands have been evacuated. Two firefighters died in a Montana wildfire and dozens of California’s homes and buildings are destroyed.

So far, with 8.3 million acres burned as of mid-September, 2017 isn’t a record year. More than 10 million acres burned in 2015, the worst wildfire season in decades.

What’s striking about this year’s fire is the social aspect, The New York Times reports. In years past, fires affected mostly unpopulated, rural areas. As populations continue to grow out west, more people are forced to evacuate as the flames meet them at their doors.

Government forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo allegedly killed at least 36 Burundi refugees on Friday afternoon, activists said. More than 400,000 people have fled political turmoil in Burundi since 2015, according to The New York Times.

A group of Burundi refugees went to the office of a Congolese official demanding information about other refugees who’d been detained. The meeting turned hostile and the refugees started throwing stones at the officials. Government soldiers responded with gunfire, leaving at least 36 dead.

Second man arrested in London subway bombing

British police arrested a 21-year-old man in connection to a subway bombing that left dozens injured and many hospitalized. This is their second arrest after detaining an 18-year-old man thought to be in connection with the bombing.

The Friday morning bomb went off in a subway car. It is Britain’s fifth terrorist attack in the past year. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, according to The New York Times.